the Legend of the Curse

In 1918 the Red Sox won their 5th World Series, the most by any club at that time. One of the stars of the Boston championship franchise was a young pitcher by the name of George Herman Ruth, aka The Babe or The Bambino.

In 1920, however, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee needed money to finance his girlfriend's play, so he sold Babe Ruth's contract to Colonel Jacob Ruppert's New York Yankees for $100,000 (plus a loan collateralized by Fenway Park).

Since then, the Yankees, who had never won a World Championship before acquiring Ruth, have gone on to win 26, and are arguably one of the greatest success stories in the history of sport.

Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox have appeared in only four World Series since 1918, losing each one in game seven. Many consider Boston's performance after the departure of Babe Ruth to be attributable to "The Curse of the Bambino."


the Weblog

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The weblog Bambino's Curse is my attempt to capture the day to day experience of being a life long Red Sox fan, an experience marked by more lows than highs, but an experience that in the end has its own rewards. Like the adage says, the treasure is always found in the journey itself and not the final destination.

So each day (or close to it) during the regular season (less frequently during the off season), I post my thoughts on the main page.

As far as the actual writing goes, I'll be the first to admit it's a work in progress. I have a daily struggle with the writing, especially with trying to establish my own unique voice and tone. 

Even after doing this for the entire '01 season and beyond, , I STILL don't have a solid grasp or comfort level with the words on the screen.

Some days I come across as a dull "just the facts, ma'am" correspondent doing little more than aping what others, the professional sports writers, do so, so much better than I; other days I sound like a pathetic school girl crying into the pages of her diary, and other times I seem unsure whether the whole Bambino's Curse experience for me is an ironic, tongue-in-cheek joke or a profound and earnest attempt to understand and share my inner-self.

I guess my uncertainty makes sense, as what I'm trying to do when I write is a mixture of all the above.

the Evidence of the Curse

Over the years, the Red Sox have compiled one of the most infamous stories of defeat, near miss, and utter collapse that the world of sports has ever known.

To read the gory details, check out the ultimate timeline of Amazing Boston Red Sox Losses, Remarkable Collapses and other Record Breaking Feats at SoxSuck.com (link opens in new window).

After looking the timeline over, ask yourself if it's all "just a coincidence."

the meaning of "1918,"

The ubiquitous appearance on the Bambino's Curse website of "1918," refers to the last year the Red Sox won the World Series. The comma is symbolic of the fact that at the time of selling Babe Ruth in 1920 the Red Sox were the premier team in baseball, and everyone expected they'd win the next World Series quite soon. The comma is in expectation of completing the listing of the championship years: 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, . . .  

Well, we've been waiting for the next one for 83 years now. 

The comma following the 1918 date continues to symbolize every Red Sox fan's ongoing belief that a World Series Championship will happen "next year."

An unfortunate yet familiar phrase among Red Sox fans is "wait 'til next year."